When in doubt, share some Amiga classics.
Prog rock’s all over the Amiga era, ranging from SID-borne loader epics to Paula chip-based experiments you’d hear later on. Pinball Fantasies may or may not be a great game in its category, but it certainly gets me amped for some weird, immersive table action.
I’m surprised the intro here’s done by Chris Crowther, not his brother Anthony who’s behind the very vast majority of Captiva on Amiga and C64 (not sure about its ports elsewhere). It’s a very complex MOD track, though I’m unsure if it’s 4-track or 8-track. The sample quality’s also something to boast about, especially those juicy orchestra hits and SFX which sound like they came from the world’s raddest rompler.
For good measure, let’s add in some Tim Follin into this ditty. No explanation needed.
Some Amiga-era CD soundtracks really stand out, like the one for Cryo’s Dune. Stéphane Picq and Philippe Ulrich really knew how to mix nascent IDM with unorthodox sample use and smoothly-integrated melody variations.
Nathan McCree gets more of the spotlight wrt Core Games/Crystal Dynamics soundtracks, but Martin Iveson’s Amiga work more than stands up. I consider Bubba ‘n’ Stix the definitive funk jam set made for this sound system.
I’m nearing the end now. Why not listen to the very first commercially released MOD track? Karsten Obarski has faded into the background by his own choice, but chiptune history will never forget tracks like the main theme to Amegas. It’s quite a solid house tune, fitting as the MOD format’s pioneering debut.
And I’ll end this little trip into the Amiga MOD sphere with some obligatory Hulsbeck jams. Turrican II’s still my favorite OST from him after all this time, at least because it’s so catchy and fitting for its game/era.